Game apparatus



29, 1949. C. METZ 29465340 GAME AFPARATUS Filed May 9, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l Z T E M C.

GAME APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 9, 1945 Patented Mar. 29, 1949 2,465,740 GAME APPARATUS christopher Metz", Baldwin, N. Y. Application May: e, 1945, serial No. l592,853

This invention relates to improvements 'in game apparatus and more particularly in bowling game apparatus.

The game apparatus of the invention is generally of the familiar type in which a ball is projected along an alley or surface on which it may be rolled and is then caused to return through a sup-erposed scoring layout so that the direction of travel is reversed. Such games are customarily used in amusement parks, the arrangement having the merit of producing a layout requiring less floor space than one in which the scoring eld is level with or aligned with the bowling surface. Such games have the disadvantage that the part played by accuracy is very much reduced. For example, in one familiar type of game, the ball is projected along a surface and is reversed by riding up a semicircular surface against which it is held by centrifugal force and thereafter drops off onto a sco-ring field. In this type of game, a sudden reversal of direction of rotation of the lball, which is traveling at relatively high velocity, is compelled and the factor of skill is very much reduced. In still other games, the ball is projected onto the scoring eld by bouncing or like movement, such as occurs in the popular game of Skee-Ball, and in such games, the trajectory of the ball is necessarily hard to control.

An object of the prese-nt invention is to provide a new and improved arrangement for transferring the ball from the bowling surface to the scoring iield in a relatively uniform and predictable manner so that the possibilities for skill may be enhanced.

A further object of the invention is to provide in conjunction with a game apparatus of the type indicated a positive means controllable by the skill of a bowler for determining score.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a game of the bagatelle type in which the element of skill may be increased to any desired extent.

With the foregoing and still other obj eats-Which will appear in the following full description in mind, the invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts and details of construction which will now first be fully described in lconnection with the accompanying drawing, and then pointed out more particularly in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a bowling game apparatus embodying the invention in a preferred form of emlrodinlent;` l l` 3 Claims. Y (Cl. 273-121) Figure 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of looking in the direction of the arrow adjacent the element I8 of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a wiring diagram; and

Figure 9 is a detail View, on an enlarged scale,

of a portion of the apparatus of Figure 2.

The apparatus of the invention comprises a bowling game which is preferably of the approximate size of a so-called Skee-Ball layout, but

may be widely varied in dimensions and proportions, and is intended primarily for use in amusement parks and the like. The apparatus may conveniently be made in the general form of a cabinet having front and rear walls l and 2 and side walls 3, the whole being positioned at convenient height by supports 4 and supporting a bowlingboard 5, which may be of anysuitable material and construction. The forward end 6 of the bowling board 5, or the end near the player. from which the balls-are projected is uncovered,`

and projecting portions of the side walls 3form sidewalls therefor,.as shown. The bowling board 5` preferably slants upwardly toward the rear and has further upright side Vwall portions 1- which define a passageway 8, diminishing gradually in width at its throat adjacent the uncovered por-4 tion of the bowling surface 5 and being substantially narrower throughout the major part of its length. The passageway 8 is covered by board 9 which preferably extends also across the full width of the apparatus and is supported by the side walls 3. The board member 9 also forms an upper return board for playing-field I0 Which is provided with a plurality of bumpers Il or other suitable devices providing targets for balls. The upper board 9 slants downwardly toward, the front of the apparatus and Vis provided withy a port 9a adjacent its far end to permit a ball to pass upwardon the curved far end of the bowling surface 5 and thus pass to the upper surface of board 9 Where it will roll down on the targets Il and, after hitting a number of these targets which may vary from zero to any larger number, the ball will roll down to the forward end of the upper surface `of the board 9. At the far end the upper board '9 meets the upwardly curved far end of lower board 5 tdbothsldes of the port..

9a. Toward the forward end, the member 9 is slanted slightly transversely of the apparatus so that a ball reaching the lower end will roll crosswise to be received in either of two discharge ports I2 communicating with a return channel I3, which is inclined transversely of the machine and continues longitudinally thereof for returning the balls to playing position.

The playing field I is covered by a transparent plate Iii which may be made of glass or suitable plastic material and a suitable housing I5 with a transparent or translucent front I6 is provided vat the rear of the machine for containing a suitable scoring board. The specific scoring board forms no part of the present invention but any of the usual boards operating by means of lights or other electrically controlled indicating means may be used.

The far end of the bowling surface extends upward in an arc to a level substantially above the member Q and is provided with a series of gates Il, I8, I2 and 2D. While these gates are shown as four in number, the number of them may be varied as desired within the limits of the space provided within the cabinet. The gate I9, which may be taken as typical of all of the gates, since their construction is similar, is shown in detail in Figure 7 of the drawing. As there shown, the gate may be formed very simply from a single piece of sheet metal which is bent so as to have an upwardly projecting side flange 2l and may be carried by a shaft 22 pivotally mounted in bearings 24 upon the bowling surface 5. Where balls of suiicient size are used, they will ride readily over the shaft 22, and where smaller balls are used, this shaft may be countersunk in the member 5 to avoid undue bouncing. The movement of the gate downwardly from the position of Figure 2 is prevented by means of the bent end 25 of shaft 22, which engages the surface 5 and prevents-further movement in this direction, and the gates are yieldingly urged toward this position, as by means of springs 26. A. ball striking gate I9 will force it over so it lies flat against the surface 5 and when the ball has passed the gate the spring will return the gate to the position of Figure 2 and prevent the ball from rolling back past it. The ball will thus be caused to roll out to one side or the other onto the surface 5 above the member Si, so 'that the ball rolls down through the playing eld lil. The gates are provided with shoes or depending anges 23, receivable within slots within playing surface 5 when the gates are down, so as to insure that the balls will roll out to one side or the other and will not rest on the gates. In certain cases where the ball diameter and height of gate are suitably related, however, such provision may be unnecessary. The lowermost gate serves as a trap to prevent any ball which is rolled with sunicient speed from returning to the bowling surface once it has passed the gate and insuring that it will roll back through the playing field instead. As later described, the scoring possibilities of the ball will be determined by how many gates it passes. For'example, a ball which passes gate II but not gate I3 may be assigned unit scoring, a ball which passes gate I8 may be assigned ve times the unit scoring, a ball which passes the gate I9 may be assigned ten times the unit scoring, while a ball which passes the gate 2E) may be assigned zero scoring, `In this way, higher scoring ratios are provided for more diiicult positions and a ball whichis projected with velocity above a certain limit will have no scoring possibility- The specific scoring ratios and the way in which they are distributed among the various gate positions are not critical and may be varied as desired.

In the preferred form of the invention, the largest possible number of gates is included within a cabinet of given dimensions by spacing the gates so closely together that a ball cannot pass one gate and permit it to snap back into the position of Figure 2 without also depressing the next gate to some extent. So long, however, as the succeeding gate is not freed by the ball passing clear of its upper edge, the ball will stop and roll back to the previous gate, and will be deflected to one side or the other by the shoe 23 of the previous gate. Rolling olf of a ball at intermediate positions is prevented by the side flanges 2| of the gates. In addition to increasing the compactness of the apparatus, this gate arrangement increases the skill required, since it reduces the margin of error permitted in overshooting a desired gate position, and by varying the distance between gates, the degree of skill required may be controlled. The degree of skill required may be controlled, also, to some extent by regulating stiffness to the gate-restoring springs 26, but undue stiffness in these springs should be avoided, asit may produce a jumping action of the balls, which is undesirable. Lateral displacement of the balls entering the field I0 will be varied by the extent to which it overrides the last gate which it passes and the consequent force with which it strikes the shoe 23 in rolling back.

Differential scoring may be provided in a very simple manner by the electrical arrangements shown in Figures 2, 4, 7 and 8. As shown in Figure '1, there may be provided above each gate and in position to be engaged by a ball rolling out from above said gate, a pair of switch actuating members extending through apertures in the surface 5 and operating switches positioned below the bowling surface 5. The switch elements Sz above gate Iil are shown in Figure 7 and as there shown comprise a pair of spring switch buttons 21 operating the pair of switches S2 positioned below the surface 5. Similar switches Si and S3 are provided above the respective gates I'I and I9. Thus a ball rolling out from above the gate I'I will momentarily close the switch Si, a ball rolling out from above gate I8 or I9 will temporarily close the switch Sz or S3, respectively, anda ball rolling out from above gate 2! will close no switch. As will be understood, the position of the switches in relation to the gates will vary with the-pitch of the surface 5 adjacent the gates' and also with the rconiiguration of the gates-themselves, this position being fixed vupon in relation to these factors so as to insure that a ball rolling outfrom above a given gate will actuate only a switch associated with that gate. By means of the circuit shown schematically in Figure 8, the apparatus may be employed with any of the known scoring boards which provide for different scoring ratios-such a scoring board 28 being -indicated diagrammatically in the circuit diagram. Scoring board 28 has a connection 29 to one line 30 of the electric power supply and may be connected to the other powerline 3l through either of three connections 32, 33 and 34, soas to determine the scoring ratios. The switches S1,Sz and S3 determine the connection which is established in the following way. yTaking theswitches Si as illustrative, it will be observed that these 1 switches are connected in parallel so'that a ball momentarily closing either switch will connect the winding R1 of a relay associated with these switches to power line 3|. The other end of the relay winding is connected through a switch S4 normally closed to power line 30. The relay being energized, its armature A1 will close contacts C1, thus establishing a connection between the line 32 and the power line 3|. The closing of the contact C1 also establishes through the maintaining connection M1 a connection parallel to the switches S1 between the relay Winding through contacts Cr to the power line 3|. The relay will therefore remain closed until the connection through its winding is interrupted by the opening of switch S4 as later described. The relay circuits associated with switches Sz and Ss are identified by similar reference characters with corresponding subscripts and require no further description, the momentary closing of the switch S2 or S3 as a ball passes over-the same operating in a similar way to establish a connection to line 33 or line 34 until this connection is broken by the opening of the switch S4. By means of this circuit, three connections providing for three different scoring ratios may be established to the score board 28, depending upon the gate above which the ball rolls out. Should the ball roll out above the uppermost gate 20, no connection will be established and no score will be registered by the score board.

The switch S4, previously referred to, is located in the channel |3 so that a ball entering this channel will momentarily open the switch and will thus re-set the circuit for another operation.

The device will normally be coin-operated, having suitable means, such as the slide 35 (Figure l) for receiving a coin and a coin-operated stop indicated as a pin 36 for releasing balls behind the same upon the insertion of the proper coin. Behind the stop 36 the channel |3 is covered to prevent access to the ball and a portion of this channel in front of the stop is open so as to provide space for the desired number of balls, here shown as five and permit access to the same 6 after the proper coin has been inserted. The specific coin mechanism utilized is no part of the present invention and accordingly is not further illustrated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bowling game apparatus, and in combination, a lower bowling board having an upwardly curved far end, an upper playing field return board meeting said lower board part way up the curved far end thereof for receiving balls rolling back thereon and having a port for permitting passage of balls rolling up said curved far end, and means for preventing balls from rolling back through said port.

2. In a bowling game apparatus, and in combination, a lower bowling board having an upwardly curved far end, an upper playing field return board meeting said lower board part way up the curved far end thereof for receiving balls rolling back thereon and having a port for permitting passage of balls rolling up said curved far end, means for preventing balls from rolling back through said port, and means spaced along said curved far end above said port for deilecting balls laterally thereon at a plurality of successive locations according to their speeds.

3. Game apparatus according to claim 2, and comprising also scoring eld regulating means for varying playing field scores according to the :vx: locations at which the balls are deflected.

CHRISTOPHER NIETZ. I

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 961,595 Fitch June 14, 191-0 1,612,912 Esmarian Jan. 4, 1927 1,973,820 MacDougall Sept. 18, 1934 2,026,902 McClellan Jan. 7, 19315l 2,278,024 Rosenzweig Mar. 31, 1942 

